Reading of the Word of God
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
1 Timothy 3, 14-16
I write this to you in the hope that I may be able to come to you soon;
but in case I should be delayed, I want you to know how people ought to behave in God's household -- that is, in the Church of the living God, pillar and support of the truth.
Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is very deep indeed: He was made visible in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed to the gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.
Praise to you, o Lord, King of eternal glory
Paul would like to go to Ephesus "soon" in order to find Timothy; he knows, however, that his trip may have to be postponed. In the meantime he sends him some precise instructions to organize in a worthy manner the "household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth." The care of the communities is a constant thought for the apostle; it never leaves him, even if he is far away from them. Writing to Timothy, Paul also thinks of the many communities in Asia Minor; he is concerned that they be firm and not run the risk of being absorbed by the mentality of the world. He therefore writes that the Church is a "pillar and bulwark of the truth," because it has been put by God in this world as a foundation upon which is upheld, visible to all humankind, God’s revelation. The centre of this revealed reality is "the mystery of piety," that is the person of Jesus Christ himself, the merciful one, the one meek and humble of heart. Paul, in six short verses, sings of this mystery of "piety," which may be a hymn which was then sung in the liturgy of the Church. The mystery of Christ is represented in three sets of pairings. The first, "flesh and Spirit," presents Christ’s nature, at once human and divine; to the "revelation" of Christ in the "flesh" is paired "recognition in the Spirit," in other words, his resurrection which has defeated death; through the work of the "Spirit" the Father proclaims before all that Jesus, executed on the cross as an evildoer, is "the Holy and Righteous One" (Acts 3:14). The second pair, "seen by angels," and "proclaimed among Gentiles," refers to the triumphant Christ who has ascended into heaven and become the ruler of history, so that he is not restricted to a particular historical period or people, and this is why his Gospel is also proclaimed to the "Gentiles." With the third pairing, "believed in throughout the world" and "taken up in glory", Paul sings of the victory of Christ lifted up and glorified at the right hand of the Father; and he affirms that "all can agree that this mystery of piety’ is a great one," entrusted by Jesus into the hands of the Church and of each believer. This mystery of piety should be lived and manifested by the Church especially in this time when violence and oppression are rising.
Prayer is the heart of the life of the Community of Sant'Egidio and is its absolute priority. At the end of the day, every the Community of Sant'Egidio, large or small, gathers around the Lord to listen to his Word. The Word of God and the prayer are, in fact, the very basis of the whole life of the Community. The disciples cannot do other than remain at the feet of Jesus, as did Mary of Bethany, to receive his love and learn his ways (Phil. 2:5).
So every evening, when the Community returns to the feet of the Lord, it repeats the words of the anonymous disciple: " Lord, teach us how to pray". Jesus, Master of prayer, continues to answer: "When you pray, say: Abba, Father". It is not a simple exhortation, it is much more. With these words Jesus lets the disciples participate in his own relationship with the Father. Therefore in prayer, the fact of being children of the Father who is in heaven, comes before the words we may say. So praying is above all a way of being! That is to say we are children who turn with faith to the Father, certain that they will be heard.
Jesus teaches us to call God "Our Father". And not simply "Father" or "My Father". Disciples, even when they pray on their own, are never isolated nor they are orphans; they are always members of the Lord's family.
In praying together, beside the mystery of being children of God, there is also the mystery of brotherhood, as the Father of the Church said: "You cannot have God as father without having the church as mother". When praying together, the Holy Spirit assembles the disciples in the upper room together with Mary, the Lord's mother, so that they may direct their gaze towards the Lord's face and learn from Him the secret of his Heart.
The Communities of Sant'Egidio all over the world gather in the various places of prayer and lay before the Lord the hopes and the sufferings of the tired, exhausted crowds of which the Gospel speaks ( Mat. 9: 3-7 ), In these ancient crowds we can see the huge masses of the modern cities, the millions of refugees who continue to flee their countries, the poor, relegated to the very fringe of life and all those who are waiting for someone to take care of them. Praying together includes the cry, the invocation, the aspiration, the desire for peace, the healing and salvation of the men and women of this world. Prayer is never in vain; it rises ceaselessly to the Lord so that anguish is turned into hope, tears into joy, despair into happiness, and solitude into communion. May the Kingdom of God come soon among people!
For the sick, in memory of the dead, for peace
